Financial services group aims for 40% free float in £500m IPO

Wolverhampton-based Charter Court Financial Services has confirmed its planned IPO, which will value the group at more than £500m.

The offer is “intended to achieve a free float of at least 40%”, the company told the stock market.

Ian Lonergan, chief executive of Charter Court, said: “Since our formation in 2008, the hard work in building this bank and its scalable growth platform has resulted in us being one of the leading specialist mortgage lenders in the markets in which we operate and we have also built a successful online savings bank offering sight and term deposits.

“We are now focused on the next phase of our development intended to drive sustainable, profitable growth and generate attractive returns whilst maintaining our approach to asset quality.

“We believe this is therefore the right time for this IPO, which will enhance our profile as we look to leverage our specialist skills and capabilities to exploit the opportunities we see for further growth in our chosen specialist mortgage markets.”

The planned flotation comes 16 months after a sales process was halted because hedge fund owner Elliott Associates thought the bids were too low.

Buyout firms BC Partners, Varde Partners and Warburg Pincus had tabled bids, which were reported at the time to be around £50m below the asking price of £400m. Nervousness in advance of a possible “Out” vote in the referendum was blamed.

However Elliott Associates believes the time is now right for it to list the business on the London stock market.

Charter Court Financial Services is a buy-to-let mortgage lender headquartered at Wolverhampton Business Park, where it employs around 350 people.

It was established in 2008 and owns the Exact and Precise Mortgage brands.